For the primary organizer of the Unofficial PCPA Reunion, Claudia Rose Golde, it could not have been a more perfect reconnect. She said that at one restaurant, she walked in and found about 50 alums congregated. As the evening grew, so too did the numbers of alums, who eventually took over the entire room. On Friday night of the reunion after the welcoming reception, many attendees migrated to the Santa Maria Inn. Golde retells the atmosphere in an email, “One of the managers at the SM Inn told me that she had never seen a group of people so happy to see one another. She said it was an amazing event to watch and that all the employees who worked it were blown away by the joy and love that was all around. Our event was only scheduled to go until 10:00 p.m. and I believe last call was a little before 2:00 a.m. When our numbers hit the 150 mark I got a call from the John Reinacher, General Manager at the SM Inn, asking if he could offer us a suggestion to accommodate our event. Fully aware, that we had no funds, he offered us the Kent room, to close off part of the lobby, set up a bar, move the sound system into the room and design a menu all at no cost.”

The alum party planners next invaded Costco with a shopping list of beverages and munchies for 300. Then at the picnic the words “surreal” “amazing” “unbelievable” were overheard time and time again. Golde recounts, “It was real, PCPA was real, it wasn’t in our imaginations. The actual time in one’s life and how you remember it can be quite different. The unique special time that we all had was real, and those of us who were lucky enough to have passed through [here]were changed for life.”

Golde credits the amazing cooperation and camaraderie from all those in attendance for making this historic event come to life. And for a short while, an emotional and vulnerable place inside each and everyone’s heart was reawakened to a memory and time when “family” meant more than blood relations and home was a community of artists that crafted lifelong memories that stretched further than the boundaries of the shops, classrooms, and stages. That commitment to their craft has made the surrounding communities all the richer for it today.

Golde graduated in the class of 1978, she was a member of the actors ensemble in the early 80s and acted in the summers of 1977 through 1983. Her favorite shows include The Winter’s Tale, Anything Goes, Warrior, Oliver, As You Like It, Company, and Madwoman of Chaillot.

Carolyn Shouse exclaimed, “This event was extraordinary! So many colleagues from as far back as 40 years gathered. Founding artistic director Donovan Marley spoke briefly to the assembly acknowledging the spirit of the company in early golden years. The website was filled with research and photos and contributions. Broadway, film and TV actor Harry Groener who began his career in the chorus of Carousel took time out from playing King Lear to attend. Kurtwood Smith from That 70's Show was sighted and Mark Harelik actor, singer, and playwright was spotted with his son's photo clipped to his shirt pocket.” Shouse concluded with a plea for our extended PCPA family to stay connected and come back anytime!

Jay Spears, one of the three pivotal organizers, assessed the lead team like this…"a perfect combo of businesslike executive authority (Claudia), savvy event-planning experience (Annie), and detached objective laziness (me)." Spears said he felt that Claudia played the daddy role, Annie the mommy role, and Jay played the gin-soaked bachelor uncle who could have his say with impunity.

Though there were doubts, having never organized anything like this before it took a lot of calm and attention to detail to pull it off without a hitch. The biggest unknown was, how many people might show up. “Early on Claudia calculated that we’d need 45 people to register for us to break even on the money she and Annie had fronted. When we reached that number we were thrilled and thought that was where it was going to stay. Boy were we wrong.” Spears added, “Claudia’s financial acumen and Annie’s organizational prowess made it look easy that the event didn’t collapse under its own weight.”

He credits the skills used by a theatre group and a collaboration where the people who solve problems outnumbered the people who make them. Spears recalls Santa Maria as the beautiful, pastoral, idyllic spot to safely learn the craft of theatre before “soaring into the perilous updrafts of the real world. Donovan, Barbara, Jack, and the whole conservatory staff nurtured us, then kicked us out of the nest at the right time.”

Coming back full circle, Spears reflected, “A beautiful, pastoral, idyllic Santa Maria day in the park was the perfect way to remember, celebrate, and give thanks for it, in the company of our fellows. Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

PCPA Education and Outreach Director, Leo Cortez became the official, unofficial reunion local contact/organizer. He served as the conduit between the reunion committee and the present PCPA company and took it on with an honest zeal. “The unofficial PCPA reunion was as significant and life affirming as the training and theatre experience we all received at PCPA in our formative years,” Cortez mused. “The opportunity to reconnect with so many of our closest friends as well as meet and break bread with some of the 'PCPA Legends' was truly a once in a lifetime experience. The fact that the glow of having attended this amazing reunion lasted for weeks afterward, is a clear indication of the emotional journey we all shared that weekend. And to think, it all started with Mike Regan suggesting meeting in the parking lot of Andersen’s Pea Soup Restaurant.”

Many called it the Summer of Healing and Summer of Love. It was in fact an experience that no one dreamed possible. It was as carefully staged as any great production that ultimately left the 300 who attended with a sense of place, gratitude, history, and love for a time from the past...a love which continues to live on strong.